We moved into our house about 6 months ago. When we did the back yard was in immaculate condition. About 2 months afterwards, water started running down the alley out of a drainage culvert behind our house. A couple days later we started noticing soggy spots in the yard. Now, most of the backyard is a mud pit. We had the city come out and look, but they would not do anything. This was during the middle of a multi month sever drought. We are still on stage 3 water restriction. I need help. Here is a picture and drawing to help illustrate. The alley is about 30 feet higher in elevation than the street in front of our house.
The flooding is mostly occurring in the upper part of the yard. The drain in the middle of the yard runs to the front of the house and has a constant and steady stream of water pouring out of it. I measured about a month ago and it was about a gallon a minute. The water is coming out of the ground further up the hill behind my house. It seems to be coming from a vacant rent house about a half mile away. The yard there looks nice, but if you take a step into it, your foot sinks up past the ankle in mud. The city checked and said there was not water flowing through the meter so it must be a natural spring. I measured that at about 10 gallons a minute coming down the culvert. The majority of the water is flowing down the alley, but I think there is enough of it getting into our yard somehow to flood it out.
The city drainage guy that came out said that we have utility lines (Phone, electric and cable. No water) in the back yard and the water is flowing through the pipes into our yard and that is causing the flooding. There is a cemetery about 2 or 3 miles uphill from us and he says the water is all the washout from that.
I spoke with a neighbor who has been in the neighborhood for over 30 years and they said they the alley used to be a creek. The city rerouted the creek when they built the neighborhood. I have been told that sometimes when you reroute a creek like that, the water can find it's way back.
Since there is an utility easement, I am not allowed to dig in the affected area to install any type of drain. The easement is the back half of our upper yard, right about where the railroad ties end.
Please help with any suggestions.
Thank you.
The flooding is mostly occurring in the upper part of the yard. The drain in the middle of the yard runs to the front of the house and has a constant and steady stream of water pouring out of it. I measured about a month ago and it was about a gallon a minute. The water is coming out of the ground further up the hill behind my house. It seems to be coming from a vacant rent house about a half mile away. The yard there looks nice, but if you take a step into it, your foot sinks up past the ankle in mud. The city checked and said there was not water flowing through the meter so it must be a natural spring. I measured that at about 10 gallons a minute coming down the culvert. The majority of the water is flowing down the alley, but I think there is enough of it getting into our yard somehow to flood it out.
The city drainage guy that came out said that we have utility lines (Phone, electric and cable. No water) in the back yard and the water is flowing through the pipes into our yard and that is causing the flooding. There is a cemetery about 2 or 3 miles uphill from us and he says the water is all the washout from that.
I spoke with a neighbor who has been in the neighborhood for over 30 years and they said they the alley used to be a creek. The city rerouted the creek when they built the neighborhood. I have been told that sometimes when you reroute a creek like that, the water can find it's way back.
Since there is an utility easement, I am not allowed to dig in the affected area to install any type of drain. The easement is the back half of our upper yard, right about where the railroad ties end.
Please help with any suggestions.
Thank you.